New Zealand Football are pleased to confirm the men’s national team will play a warm-up match on Friday 12 November (Saturday 13 November NZT) against the Algeria side assembled for the FIFA Arab Cup, due to take place from 30 November. 

The match will be played ahead of the All Whites international friendly against The Gambia on Tuesday 16 November (Wednesday 17 November NZT). 

Both fixtures will now be played at Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, kicking-off at 8pm local time (5am NZT). The games have been moved from the original venue due to the pitch needing longer to be ready for international football. 

The squad will arrive in camp in Abu Dhabi from today (Monday 8 November) but will be without defender Bill Tuiloma who has had to withdraw through injury.  

Head Coach Danny Hay stressed the importance of building on the work from the October camp: 

“As good as it is to get two wins in the October window, the performance level is what pleased me the most. This should now be seen as the minimum we expect going forward.

“Playing a warm up game like this is especially useful as it allows us to try out a few different options which is critical ahead of our World Cup qualification campaign.

“The more time we can have together the better, so the time in camp to continue to build the culture and bonds in the squad is really important.”

Article added: Monday 08 November 2021